Enjoying my freedom: freedom to argue, freedom to run, freedom for my family

Dear James, Daniel and Emily,

Enjoying the trends in the world today, while simultaneously enjoying the fruits of my labor. Had a nice, productive, enjoyable 3 day weekend. Loads of family time, filled with fun events, productive planning and relaxation. Also glad to feel my focus on sports gradually receding weekend by weekend.

Family

A good weekend, with some fun events, planned and unplanned. Saturday I did my normal run at the Y, then the library. Then we went to an unplanned birthday event for one of James' friends from school. Which was a good time for all the kids as they had chances to run around a different house with a bunch of friends/other kids. I enjoyed the company of other adults, talking about our kids and school etc. It was a nice change.

Sunday we took the kids to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. Which was a really good time, the kids enjoyed all of the different exhibits. And we went ahead and became members so we now have that as an option on weekends, provided we are willing to make the drive to Denver.

Monday was a day to just relax, plus plan a little for the basement. I took advantage of the decent weather and free time to take a decent walk with Spotty as well. That has to be a new focus, she needs more exercise, and more importantly more socialization so when I take these walks her reaction to other dogs is not to just bark and jump at them. That habit of hers is making my runs a little harder than they should be.

Training

So my training went well over the weekend. With good runs and then walks every day. My eating did not fare as well, but that is just a matter of habit as much as anything. I am really enjoying getting back onto the roads and trails and feel stronger every day. My sit ups are just not progressing for some reason, but I keep at it, while the push ups are slowly building. Overall, I just feel I am in a really good place physically.

Politics

It's all about freedom now. While the people of the Middle East are letting their voices be heard, even risking death to do so, and freedom is spreading, the people of America are finally waking up to the real agenda of the corporate GOP. And they are standing up for their rights to, letting the politicians know what is and is not acceptable. And it's not just a handful of Tea Party activists, this is a real movement, with continuing demonstrations numbering in the thousands for over a week. I hope that this is a sign, that once people saw the true fruits of the GOP agenda, as symbolized in the House budget over the weekend, and the war on the poor & middle class, that maybe the line has finally been crossed.

Projects

We spent much of the drive up to Denver sketching out exactly all of the  plans we have for the basement, and what obstacles we will have to cross to complete the projects. I think we are mostly in agreement there, and have a good idea of what we are planning to do in the long run. It's going to be a lot of work, and not easy to get done until the contractors have done their part, but I am excited for this process to begin.